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I went out to the Katong area last week to have “laksa”. Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from Peranakan culture also known as Baba and Nyonya, which is a merger of Chinese and Malay elements found in Malaysia and Singapore. Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laksa. I have been told that the most famous laksa joint in Singapore is 328 Katong Laksa.

Celebrities who have visited 328 Katong Laksa.

Look who I found on the wall, ehehehehe. Tony Leung! :9~

Ekin Cheng ate at 328 Katong Laksa too.

A glass of Lime Juice to cool down with. Naturally, it was a hot and humid day (like, everyday).

The laksa prep stall.

A fragrant steaming bowl of Katong Laksa, ladies and gentlemen!

Laksa is commonly served with a spoonful of sambal chilli paste and is traditionally garnished with Vietnamese coriander, or laksa leaf, which is known in Malay as daun kesum. Cockles are usually very commonly used in laksa and most vendors would add them into laksa unless customers request not to have cockles for hygiene reasons.

I *love* the cockles in laksa. The more the better! But indeed they can cause an issue when it comes to hygiene. I recall one incident when I had laksa for lunch one time at a food court somewhere, asked for extra cockles and ended up getting food poisoning so severe that I missed out on a friend’s wedding banquet that same night. Incidentally, said wedding banquet was the sole reason for me visiting Singapore at the time. D’oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -_-

Laksa is often paired with Otak-otak, which is also a Peranakan food. Otak-otak is made by mixing fish paste (usually mackerel) with a mixture of spices including chillies, garlic, shallots, turmeric, lemon grass and coconut milk. The mixture is then wrapped in a banana leaf that has been softened by steaming, then grilled or steamed.

Singaporean/Malaysian Otak-otak (orange color) is different than the Indonesian version (white color). The latter does not have spices added in and the texture is denser and bouncier. This orange version commonly found in Singapore is fluffy.